I'll Save You
by RockQueen98
Summary: When Dean Ambrose comes across a sixteen-year-old boy named Seth Rollins one night, beaten and abused, he knew that he would do whatever it takes to save him from the past and make him see that he belongs in this world. AU, M/M, Warnings inside.
1. Escape

**A/N: **Those who read Hostage will know that I have been thinking about another Wrestling AU fanfiction for a while.I started it last week, and here it is!

**Warnings: This story has mentions of verbal, physical and sexual abuse through the story. Self harm and suicidal tendencies will also be included. The rating _will _rise to M when it will need to be. I will not be mentioning these again, as I've listed them here. Please do not forget that these will be included. **

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><p><strong>I'll Save You<strong>

**Chapter One: Escape**

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><p>The sound of keys in the door was enough to wake Seth Rollins from his slumber and sit up straight. Did he really let himself fall asleep on the sofa? That was such a bad idea, a very, <em>very <em>bad idea...

He could tell that Randy was angry by how quickly the door was opened and slammed shut again. His eyes showed it all when they landed on Seth, and he gulped. Randy wasn't just angry, he was _furious. _He didn't even know what had happened - Randy's phone had rang, he left the apartment as he answered it, and had been gone for several hours.

The smallest thing could trigger Randy's temper, but his clenched fists and the expression on his face showed Seth that whatever had made him this way wasn't just a 'small thing'.

"What's happened?" he asked quietly.

"Fucking Corey Graves," Randy laughed humourlessly, and Seth winced at his tone. "He talked to our boss, didn't he? He told him about what I said to him yesterday, even though it was barely a threat."

Seth stayed silent. He knew how much Randy liked working at the tattoo parlour - and he also wasn't liking how close Randy had gotten to him.

"They said it was the last straw... I was fired. I was fucking fired! After all I've done for them!"

Randy was screaming at this point, and Seth had jumped up from the sofa. He backed away from Randy, and panicked when his back hit the wall.

"Randy, it'll be alright, just please c-calm down..."

"And _you?" _Randy hissed, his hand grabbing Seth's hair. "You don't do _anything _to help me, do you? No job, barely anything around here, just nothing. I'm fucking left to struggle to even pay the rent while you just sit around."

"I-I've not even been able to go to school..."

"It's not like you'd pass even if you _did _go! You're just wasting space around here!"

"Randy-"

"_SHUT UP!"_

Seth didn't have the chance to brace himself before his head was slammed against the wall. He barely had time to clutch his head before Randy's knee was buried into Seth's stomach, and when he fell to his knees, Randy kicked him to the floor.

"You're nothing! You hear me? _Nothing!"_

After several more kicks to Seth while he was sprawled on the floor, Randy grabbed his wallet from the table and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door shut after him. It took a few moments for Seth to catch his breath and lift himself off the floor, wincing. He had expected it to be a lot worse, though. A lot of the time when Randy was angry, he'd hit him a lot worse than that. Or, when he was in the mood, took it out sexually. He had probably went out to get drinks, so if he didn't quite have enough to make him pass out as soon as he entered the apartment, it would be worse when he got home.

Seth made his way to the bathroom and his heart sank when he looked at himself in the mirror.

A bruise which was still healing from a few days ago surrounded his right eye, as well as his throat. His lips were swollen and a trail of blood trickled down his chin. He had heavy bags under his eyes, which were dull. The body he had once been remotely proud of was far too skinny. His hair was messy and the side he usually bleached blonde was in clear need of treatment.

He looked like a mess.

The realisation came to him. He _needed _to get out of there. He had to.

Not bothering to wash the blood away from his face - which is what he had gone into the bathroom to do - he ran out of the room and into the bedroom. He looked through the drawers frantically, trying to find the clothing he had left. He grabbed a few pieces, and looked through the closet to find his old school bag. He slung it over his shoulder after he shoved the clothing into it. Clutching at his stomach which was still burning with pain from Randy's kicks, he walked over to the front door and opened it. His eyes scanned the area for Randy, and relief washed over him when he couldn't spot him anywhere. He was probably already drunk with his friends by now.

He closed the door after him and walked away as fast as he possibly could away from the apartment block. His pace began to slow down after he had made his way to the streets away from there, and he realised that he didn't have a clue about where he could go. He continued to walk nonetheless, knowing that any other option was better than going back.

A few people looked at him curiously when he walked by, obviously wondering what had happened to someone so young. They didn't say a word, however, and looked away as soon as Seth made eye contact.

He wasn't sure how long he had been walking before he fell down onto a bench. He buried his head into his hands, and he allowed the tears he had been pushing back to fall. He had no idea what he was going to do now; but would it really have been a good idea to stay?

"Hey, are you alright?"

Part of Seth panicked, thinking it could have been one of Randy's friends. He slowly raised his head, and breathed out in relief when he saw it was someone who he had never seen before.

"Holy shit," the man said when Seth looked at him and frowned. "Who did that to you? Were you attacked?"

"I'm fine," Seth mumbled. He wiped away the tears from his eyes as he looked down at the floor. He expected the man to just shrug and walk away, forget about him like every other person in the street had done, but instead, he sat down next to Seth.

"What's your name?"

"Seth," he said quietly, not looking back at the man.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"What are you doing out here at this time of night?"

Seth stayed silent, not wanting to tell this man he didn't even know what had happened. He shivered, however, which the man noticed.

"Fucking hell, you're freezing," he said, seeing that Seth wasn't even wearing a jacket. He shrugged off his own jacket and held it out to Seth. "Here, take it. You look like you need it more than I do."

Seth hesitated before he took the jacket from the man and put it on. The man's eyes flickered on a set of scars which littered the inside of each of Seth's wrists, but he didn't comment.

"Do your family know where you are?" he asked.

"...It's complicated."

The man sighed, and looked down at his hands for a moment before his eyes landed back on Seth.

"You need to tell me what you're doing out here. Do you have anywhere to go?"

Seth stayed still for a few moments before he shook his head slowly. The man sighed again and placed a hand on Seth's shoulder, though he quickly moved back a little when he saw Seth flinch.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," he said reassuringly. "I want to help you. It's dangerous for someone in your kind of state to be out at this time of night. Is there anyone I can call? Anyone at all?"

Seth shook his head again.

"I have my phone with me, but there isn't really anyone to call," he mumbled. "I'm fine, really. You don't have to help me."

"No, you're not fine. Someone has obviously done this to you and I'm not just going to let you act as if you're fine," the man said. He reached for his phone when it started to ring, motioned for Seth to stay, and answered the call. "Hey, Roman. Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry. I know, I can't come now, something's come up. No, nothing has happened, not to me anyway. I'll explain tomorrow, alright? You just go with Daniel for now. I'll come another night. See you."

He hung up and looked back at Seth.

"Do you have any money for a hotel or anything?" he asked.

"I didn't have any to bring with me," Seth replied quietly.

"I thought not. Saying that, I don't really want to leave you in a hotel anyway, not when you're like this."

The man sighed and got up off the bench.

"Do you want to stay with me? At least for the night."

"No, I can't do that..." Seth said quickly, wincing when he got back to his feet. "I don't even know you and... It's too much of a burden for you. I'll be fine, it was stupid of me to come out here anyway... I should get back."

He began to walk away, but stopped when the man called out to him.

"Wait, stop!"

Seth turned slowly, and was quite surprised to see the desperation on the man's face. Why would he be so concerned about someone he didn't even know?

"If you're going back to someone who might have done this to you, I can't just watch you walk away," the man said, breathing in deeply. "It's obvious that this wasn't just an accident. Please, just... Let me help you. At least get yourself cleaned up and rested, alright?"

Seth's immediate thought of action was to say no, and quickly walk away. As fast as he could, at least. But he literally had nowhere else to turn, unless he wanted to go back to Randy. Surely this man's intentions couldn't be as bad as that? He seemed friendly enough. First impressions could be misleading, but... Did he have any other choice?

"O-Okay..." he whispered. The man breathed out in relief and gestured to his left.

"Come on, my house is only a five minute walk away. Do you want me to carry that for you?" he asked, nodding at the rucksack on Seth's back. Again, Seth thought about saying no, but his body was aching too much for him to carry it for longer. He nodded and handed it to the man.

"Thank you," he mumbled.

"Don't mention it," the man smiled, slinging it over his shoulder. "I'm Dean, by the way. Dean Ambrose."

The man's smile helped Seth to relax, though he was still tense. What if it was all an act just to lure Seth back to his home? What if he _was _a friend of Randy's, and Seth had just never seen him before? He knew it was unlikely, but it still worried him. And yet, he still walked by Dean's side down the street. He noticed how the man was taking slow strides in an attempt to walk at the same pace at Seth, considering he was both smaller and was unable to walk very quickly. He couldn't help but feel very grateful for this simple act of kindness.

The walk was silent, though Seth felt Dean's eyes land on him a few times. It was quite obvious that he was inspecting the bruise which had most likely formed by now from his head being slammed against the wall. He knew that Dean still wanted to know what happened, but he wasn't too sure if he'd be able to say it, never mind want to.

They soon walked up to a house, which was fairly small, though Seth wondered why he was living in a house rather than an apartment if Dean lived on his own.

"My friend Roman lives here with me as well, but he's out tonight," Dean explained, noticing Seth gazing at the house with obvious curiosity. "He often stays at his girlfriend's house anyway. Daniel used to live with us, but he moved in with his fiancé recently. I guess we'll find a new place soon."

"I'm sorry that I ruined your plans," said Seth, remembering that Roman had been the person who had called Dean earlier.

"Nah, it's fine," Dean shrugged. "They're both only at the pub. I can go another time. Besides, I'm the one who convinced you to come here."

He unlocked the door and motioned for Seth to enter. He hesitated, but slowly stepped inside. Dean followed him and turned on the light. The lit room, which had a homely feel to it, helped calm Seth a little.

"I have a spare room that you can sleep in, though I guess that you'd want a shower first?" Dean asked. Seth nodded, hoping that he didn't seem rude, but Dean smiled. "Thought so. Come on, it's up here. Did you bring anything that you can sleep in?"

"Yeah, I did," Seth replied, recalling that he packed an old T-shirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms in his hurry. He had questioned for a moment why he would need to bring them, but was glad that he did.

He followed Dean up the stairs, and was handed the bag when they reached the top. Seth thanked him and pulled out the clothing.

"It's just here," Dean said, opening a door to their right. "Do you want me to put that in the spare room for you?"

"If you don't mind."

"Of course I don't," he smiled. Seth returned the smile and handed the rucksack to Dean, who walked into a room opposite to the bathroom and placed it on the bed. "If you need me, just call me."

"I will," said Seth. He watched Dean walk down the stairs before he entered the bathroom and locked the door. He winced as he removed his clothes, trying not to strain his stomach. Those kicks, despite the fact that they could have been more forceful, had definitely dealt some damage. He was thankful that Randy hadn't hurt him as much as he could have done.

He avoided looking in the mirror and stepped into the shower. The water stung at first when it hit the bruises on Seth's skin, but his body soon adjusted to it and he began to rinse away the blood from his face. He ran his hands through his hair and only just noticed the blood which was in it. He hadn't saw that when he had looked in his reflection earlier on. It seemed as though the hit against the wall had done more than just bruise his face.

After washing the blood out hurriedly, he wasted no time getting out of the shower. As relaxing as it was, he was exhausted, and he just needed to sleep.

The condensation on the mirror had cleared a lot by the time Seth had dried himself and pulled on his underwear and pyjama bottoms. His eyes glanced at his reflection, and he flinched when he saw the bruise forming on his face. Considering the bruise which was still healing around his eye was on the opposite side, it looked like he had got into several different fights. It was kind of true - it was just one-sided each time.

Bruises were also quickly forming on his stomach, though he was grateful that the kicks hadn't been aimed at his ribs, like they had been before. However, his finger automatically trailed across the obvious bones at the thought of them. He didn't always notice how much weight he had actually lost until he saw himself in the mirror. It wasn't on purpose - he just had so much nausea from both physical damage and worry that he couldn't always keep food down when he thought he might have the appetite to eat it.

His fingers next trailed across the inside of one of his wrists. Far too many times had he wished that Randy hadn't found him lying on the bathroom floor, blood flowing from his wrists. Perhaps he would have found peace if he hadn't.

Frowning, he looked away from the mirror and pulled on his old T-shirt to cover the body he was ashamed of. He picked up his clothes from the floor and walked over the door to unlock it. He was quite surprised to find Dean standing outside when he opened it.

"I was just coming to see if you were alright," he said. "Hey, _are_ you alright? You don't look so good."

He didn't? Perhaps the tiredness and the distaste of looking at his own body showed.

"I'm just exhausted," he replied. Dean nodded and gestured to the spare room.

"You should get to sleep, then."

Seth didn't hesitate to walk into the room and get into the bed. Dean looked at him for a moment in the doorway.

"Goodnight, Seth," he said, before he turned the light off and closed the door. He sighed and brushed a hand through his hair as he made his way to his own room. He certainly hadn't expected this tonight, but he couldn't just leave a sixteen-year-old boy who was clearly attacked by _someone _on a bench at night, with nowhere to go and without the physical capability to defend himself.

He just hoped that Seth would tell him what happened, at least the basics of it, in the morning.

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><p>Seth woke up panicked the next morning, until he realised what had happened the night before. He relaxed a little, and carefully got himself out of bed. He was extremely grateful for what Dean had done for him, but he was sure that he couldn't stay here for long.<p>

He made his way down the stairs and found Dean in the kitchen, who was making himself some toast. The man turned around when he heard Seth's footsteps, and smiled.

"Morning," he said as he got the toast out of the toaster. "Sleep well?"

"I did, thank you," said Seth.

"You're free to sit down," Dean chuckled. Seth nodded, slightly embarrassed, and sat down in one of the dining chairs. Dean grinned and pointed at the toast on the plate. "Want this?"

"Oh no, it's yours," Seth said hurriedly.

"It's fine; I can make myself more."

Seth paused before he nodded and took the plate from Dean. He should eat - he hadn't eaten anything properly for the last couple of days, after all.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Dean asked.

"Water would be fine," Seth replied. He couldn't stomach much more than that, especially in the mornings. Dean nodded and handed him a bottle of mineral water from the fridge. A few minutes later, he had joined Seth at the dining table with a plate of his own toast and a mug of coffee. Seth had only got through one of the halves at this point; his body had gotten used to not having a whole lot of food.

"I'm really grateful for all of this," he said quietly. "Really, I am."

"It's not a problem. I couldn't just leave you like that," said Dean. He took another bite of his toast before continuing. "What happened, Seth? You don't have to tell me everything, I just... I really want to know."

Seth sighed, putting the toast back on his plate. The thought of saying his situation aloud terrified him, but didn't Dean have the right to know after helping him?

"It was... It was someone I live with who did this to me," he started after taking a deep breath.

"Someone you live with? You mean like a family member?" Dean questioned, looking concerned.

"Not exactly... It was my... My boyfriend," Seth replied, sighing. Dean was surprised at how ashamed he seemed to be about how he had a boyfriend - though he was more disgusted at how he was being treated like that.

"You don't have to sound so ashamed about being gay; I'm bisexual myself, so I'm obviously going to accept you," said Dean. "But if your boyfriend did this to you then this is very serious. Those other bruises you have as well were clearly inflicted on a different day, which shows this isn't unusual."

Seth lowered his head, and Dean suddenly felt very guilty.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you or anything. I'm just worried about you."

"It's alright," Seth said quietly. "After letting me stay the night, you deserved to know. But I shouldn't stay here for long - it's unfair on you. I'll go and get dressed, and then I'll head back. He's probably wondering where I am..."

"You can't head back," Dean said with a sense of urgency. "I don't know everything about this, but I can quite clearly see that you're scared of this guy - and for good reason. I can't just let you leave knowing that you're going back to someone like that. If you don't have any family that you can stay with, then you can stay with me until this gets sorted out."

"I don't want to be a bother, though..."

"It's not a bother. I'd rather know that you're safe than just let you go back there."

They both turned their heads at the sound of the front door opening and closing. A rather muscular Samoan man stood in the archway to the kitchen, and was looking at Seth curiously. Seth guessed that this was Roman.

"I wasn't expecting you to move on to an under-age teenager after you and AJ broke up."

"He's sixteen," said Dean. "And we're not involved like that."

"Then who is he?" the man asked, walking closer to the table. He frowned when he looked at Seth's face properly. "Shit, that looks painful. How did that happen?"

"He's the reason that I couldn't come last night. I found him on a bench like that and I couldn't just leave him; he had nowhere else to go," Dean explained.

"What about your parents? Or are they... The ones who did this?"

"No, they're not," Seth replied quietly. "But I... I don't live with them and I doubt they'd just let me back home."

Dean frowned at this - he presumed that something must have happened to Seth's parents and that was why he was living with his boyfriend. There were so many unanswered questions but he couldn't just ask them, especially not with Roman here, as well.

"Have you called the police?" Roman asked, turning to Dean, who quickly shook his head.

"It's not my decision - it's Seth's. I just wanted to make sure that he was alright. I'm letting him stay as long as he needs to. Is that fine with you?"

"Of course it is," said Roman, sitting down in one of the chairs. "I would have done the same in your position."

Seth relaxed a little. Roman's appearance had been quite intimidating, but it seemed like he was just as friendly as Dean, which was a huge relief. Roman also didn't ask any other questions in a clear attempt to not make him feel uncomfortable. For the first time in his life, he actually considered himself lucky.

A few minutes later, both he and Dean had finished their breakfast. Dean got up from his chair, stretching.

"I better go and get dressed."

"I will as well," said Seth, standing up. Despite Roman being friendly, he thought it would be a little awkward for him to stay alone with him before he has even said one word to him. Dean smiled and nodded, and Seth followed him up the stairs.

"I'm sorry about what Roman said when he first walked in," he said when they made it to the top.

"It's fine, he didn't know who I was," Seth shrugged.

"I just thought you might have been insulted."

"No, I wasn't," Seth smiled reassuringly. He hadn't really been insulted by the 'under-age' comment - he knew that he looked a little young for his age; people often thought he was fifteen rather than sixteen, especially since he started losing weight.

"Good," Dean smiled back before he entered his room. Seth was stood still for a minute, still looking at Dean's closed door before he entered the spare room. Or, apparently, _his _room for however long he was going to stay. He wasn't sure how long that would be, and where exactly he would go after. He decided it wouldn't help to dwell on these thoughts, and started changing out of his nightclothes and into a pair of slim jeans and a T-shirt he had brought with him. He paused, however, when his eyes flickered over to the clothes he had been wearing that previous day. He reached over to the pair of jeans and pulled his mobile out of one of the pockets. It still had half the battery.

There were twenty missed calls from Randy and ten text messages. His heart started thumping loudly in his chest, wondering how angry Randy was right now. Seth doubted that he was concerned, especially if he noticed that some of Seth's clothes were gone.

Too scared to read the messages, he quickly turned the phone off and put it in his rucksack. He noticed his hand was shaking when he brought it back to his side. Was Randy going to search for him? It seemed like something he might try to do. Seth wasn't even sure if Randy cared about him anymore, but that wouldn't be the reason why he'd want Seth back so badly.

Seth stopped being his own person a while ago. He had been labelled as Randy's property for months.

And what was it going to take to remove that label?

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><p><strong>AN: **In case you were wondering, more details on when this started happening to Seth and how Randy changed will be explained through the story. Like Hostage, I don't know if I'll make it very long, maybe about 40,000 words? I'll try to make the chapters good enough, though.

Like I had to do before, apologies to any Randy lovers. I'm a fan of him myself. But I feel like if his character was a real-life person, especially when he's heel, then he wouldn't be normal. At all.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are appreciated!


	2. Protection

**A/N: **I'm very sorry for this late update. I usually don't take this long to finish chapters, but both my mental and physical health hasn't been the best these last couple of weeks, and so I didn't exactly have the motivation to write.

It's also smaller than the first, but I can't always write long chapters. I have other pains, but to save me going into detail, I've basically had a constant headache for over two years which can get pretty severe. Naturally I can't really write when I'm really particularly worse, and so there are times when I'd much rather simply post a smaller chapter than keep you waiting even longer for an update. Hopefully that is understandable!

Anyway, thank you for the feedback for the first chapter. I hope that you enjoy this one!

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><p><strong>I'll Save You<strong>

**Chapter Two - Protection**

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><p>Seth had stayed in that same spot for several minutes, frozen by the thoughts running through his mind. Thoughts of how he was going to get his life on track, thoughts of what would happen if Randy found him. It wouldn't be a heart-warming reunion, despite how much it might appear like that to the public eye. As soon as they got home, it would be even worse than how it was before. So now Seth had gotten away, he had to stay as far away as possible. The thought of not doing just that made his anxiety rise higher and higher.<p>

He took a deep breath and tried to push the negative thoughts away as he finally changed out of his nightclothes and into one of the spare outfits he had brought with him - just a band T-shirt and a usual pair of skinny jeans. After he had folded his nightclothes and placed them on the bed, he couldn't stop his mind wandering again. It was only the knock on the door which made him jump back into reality.

"Are you alright, Seth?" he heard Dean call through the door. He realised how long he had taken in the room, and quickly walked over to open it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking," said Seth. He stepped out onto the landing next to Dean and closed the door after him.

"Sorry, I guess I can be a bit over-protective at times," Dean laughed, rubbing his neck. Seth wasn't used to someone actually being protective over him, even if it was just in their nature, like it appeared to be with Dean. Randy had been possessive, sometimes even obsessive, but never protective. He was anything but that.

"It's okay," Seth smiled.

"I have to go to the store quickly; we were going to get the shopping done tomorrow, but obviously we need a couple more things now that you're here. Before you feel guilty, it's fine," Dean grinned. "You can come with me if you want?"

Seth quickly shook his head. He didn't exactly want to be left alone with Roman, as friendly as he seemed, but he also didn't feel brave enough to go back outside. The thought of potentially running into Randy terrified him. Dean, however, understood.

"Roman's here anyway so you won't be left on your own," he said. He walked down the stairs, Seth close behind him, and called out to Roman when he reached for the handle of the front door. "I'm just going to go to the store, Roman! I'll be back soon."

He smiled at Seth before he opened the door and left the house. Roman walked over to the hall, grinning.

"I guess it's just you and me, huh?" he said, folding his arms. His voice was perfectly friendly but the words made Seth panic. Those the words which were spoken by one of Randy's friends, who was at their apartment. Randy himself had been heading out to the store, and his friend wasn't exactly as kind as Roman was.

_"I guess it's just you and me, huh?" the man said, smirking. "So you're Seth, huh? He's mentioned you before. You're as pretty as he made you out to be."_

_Seth gulped when the man started to walk over, his eyes looking at Seth's body up and down. He had no idea what the man's name was - he don't think Randy had ever told him. He was a little smaller than Randy, but that was only in height. He looked about a year or two older, and he was quite clearly proud of his rather large muscles._

_"Seriously, why he hasn't gotten you out more is beyond me. But, I guess I can see why he'd want to keep you to himself. I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing you with me, though."_

_He suddenly reached out to Seth, grabbed his arm, and pulled him closer._

_"Not much of a talker, huh?" he asked, his other hand trailing under Seth's shirt._

_"Please, don't," Seth said quickly, breathing in deeply. _

_"Why not? Randy won't give a shit, I'm sure. I'm one of his best friends. And... Well, you really don't seem to be big enough to stop me. You might as well not resist."_

_He grinned slyly, and the hand which had been under Seth's shirt suddenly pulled out and grabbed at Seth's hair to bring his head closer._

_"Get on your knees."_

"Seth, you alright? Seth?"

He was snapped out of his flashback by Roman, who had walked over and placed a hand on Seth's shoulder, looking at him with concern. He nodded slowly, quite clearly shaken,

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry."

"Are you sure? You spaced out there for a moment," Roman frowned.

"I know, I was just distracted. I'm alright."

"I'm just making sure," Roman smiled, taking his hand off Seth's shoulder. His smile faltered when he saw Seth visibly relax from the lack of contact. What had he been through to make him so fearful of such a simple gesture?

He felt like it would be far too intruding to ask him why, however, or ask him what had happened. It was understandable: he had only met this guy a few minutes ago. Plus, Dean was the one who had found him and offered Seth to stay, so he would obviously be trusted a little more than Roman.

"Dean should be back soon enough. Do you want to go and watch TV or something for now?" Roman asked, deciding it would be best to change the subject and also do something which didn't really require for Seth to speak that much. He didn't seem very comfortable engaging in a lot of conversation, which was, again, understandable.

"Yeah, sure," Seth nodded, and he followed Roman into the lounge. He sat down on one end of the sofa, and Roman sat on the other. He reached for the remote to turn it on, and left it on the news as there wasn't really anything interesting on. Seth didn't seem to be paying much attention to the screen, anyway.

To Roman's surprise, it was actually Seth who spoke up first.

"Thanks for being fine with me staying. I don't even know where I could have gone if Dean hadn't offered for me to stay here."

"It's not a problem," Roman smiled, and was extremely close to asking Seth about why he had nowhere else to go, why he wasn't at home, but stopped himself. Seth, however, noticed this and sighed.

"I can tell that you want to know what happened, and I think I should tell you, considering you've agreed to me staying here," he said, and decided to try and keep it as simple as possible. He didn't feel brave enough to go into detail. "I've ran away from my abusive boyfriend, who I was living with. I was sitting on a bench, and that's where Dean had found me."

"God, I'm so sorry," Roman replied softly. "You seem far too much of a good person to deserve anything like that."

"No one deserves it," Seth said quietly. Roman's eyes glanced at the two bruises on his face, the ones around his throat, and the cut on his lip. How on earth could someone do that to someone who was so innocent? How could someone do that to anyone?

"If there's anything, anything at all that you need me to do for you, I'm here," he said. Seth smiled at him sweetly, and that only made Roman's heart hurt more, knowing that someone so kind had been treated so horribly.

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

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><p>Dean had returned around half an hour later, with several bags of groceries in his hands.<p>

"Mind giving me a hand, Roman?" he called after he had announced he was back.

"Sure," said Roman, giving Seth a quick smile before he walked out of the room and took two of the bags from Dean and followed him to the kitchen. They placed the bags on the kitchen counters, and Roman started unpacking one of them, but stopped when he noticed Dean's frown.

"What's wrong?" Roman asked.

"I can't say, not without saying what has happened with Seth, and I don't want to tell you without him being alright with that."

"It's alright, I know about his boyfriend," said Roman. "He told me about him while you were out."

"Okay, well, while I was on my way back from the store, I overheard some guy in the street, with a couple of people with him," he started, lowering his voice. "I sat down on a bench nearby and pretended to look at my phone so I could carry on listening. He was asking people walking by if they had seen a small sixteen-year-old boy with two-toned hair."

"Oh shit," Roman said, a hand over his mouth. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Yeah, he asked me that very question. I just told him that I hadn't. But fuck, this guy was big, Roman. Well, not exactly any bigger than me in muscle, definitely not bigger than you, but he was huge compared to Seth. If that's the guy that Seth has been living with..."

Dean inhaled a deep breath before he continued.

"He was older as well; about our age. My guess is that he was twenty."

"So why would he live with someone like this? Did he have nowhere else to live?"

Dean sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"My guess is that his parents kicked him out of the house, probably for being gay. His boyfriend, this guy, was probably the only person he could go to. Maybe he changed or something, I don't know," he said, and sighed deeply before he continued. "We need to keep him away from that guy, Roman. God knows what would happen if he ended up back with him."

"We will, don't worry," Roman said reassuringly. "He'll be alright."

"I sure hope so, because he really doesn't deserve that," Dean sighed, and he started to unpack the groceries from the bags.

"I said the same thing to him," Roman said. Both him and Dean stayed silent as they both put away the groceries, though just as Roman was about to leave the kitchen, Dean spoke up again.

"I can see the pain in his eyes," he said quietly. "It makes me furious that he's been made that way. He gets scared, too, with contact. It's awful."

"I know, he seemed fearful of me before, for a moment," Roman sighed. "But he'll be okay, Dean. He's safe now, and he'll get better. He just needs time."

Dean nodded, and both of them made their way back to the lounge. Seth was still sitting on the sofa, though his eyes weren't on the television and he was quite clearly lost in thought. When Dean sat down next to him, he jumped.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's fine, I was just thinking," Seth replied, smiling, though it seemed slightly forced. Dean knew better than to question why, as Seth had already confessed more about what had happened to him, and so returned the smile.

That happened a lot throughout the day. Seth drifting off into his thoughts, a noise or movement startling him, followed by an apology from either Dean or Roman. It seemed as though Seth being left in silence led to him thinking about things, and Dean could tell that they weren't exactly nice. He was very good at reading body language. The way that Seth picked at his nails and sometimes bit down on his lip was a clear sign of being nervous. Dean hated seeing him like this, but obviously, it wasn't his fault. He still didn't know everything about Seth's life, at least not enough to know how long it had been going on for and how bad it was, but he understood why Seth had been so nervous.

However, the boy seemed to trust Dean a lot, more than Roman, despite his friendly attitude. Dean could see Seth relax when they sat down next to each other, and he seemed to start finding it a little easier to speak to him.

The following day, he even began to answer one of Dean's questions without it even being asked.

"Randy was never like this, not at first, at least," Seth started quietly. "It was probably stupid, being with someone several years older than me when I was just fifteen. I was almost sixteen, but it was still a bad idea. He was nineteen at the time. But I honestly thought he was making my life better, and I suppose he was, at first. I don't know what I would have done once I had turned sixteen without him."

He was going to stop there, but somehow, it felt better to say this rather than keep it to himself. And so, the words kept coming.

* * *

><p><em>Seth, his mother, his step-father and his older brother were sat at the dining table, eating the roast that had been prepared. Meaningless conversations stopped the silence, as well as the same kind of questions which were asked everyday. The only difference was that it was Seth's sixteenth birthday.<em>

_"I'm surprised that you didn't ask us if you could bring someone along. A friend, or girlfriend, maybe?" his step-father said, before raising an eyebrow. "I would have thought you'd have one by now."_

_It was a statement that was said quite often. They didn't know of Seth's older boyfriend, Randy. He probably wouldn't ever tell them about him, not when they made it so obviously clear that they were homophobic._

_"Perhaps he is just waiting for the right girl to come along. Isn't that right, Seth?" his mother questioned, smiling. He returned the smile and nodded, hoping that would end this conversation, but of course, his brother had to speak up._

_"Or the right guy, that is," he sniggered. His mother sighed, shaking her head._

_"Don't be so childish," she said. "Seth isn't gay."_

_"Oh, sure he isn't," he said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, you could see it a mile away."_

_"Ryan, shush! Don't start with this."_

_"Actually, I think he has a point," their father said, tilting his head slightly at Seth. "He has never shown interest in girls whatsoever."_

_"Perhaps he is just not ready! The fact that he hasn't had a girlfriend yet doesn't mean he's gay."_

_"Oh, please," his brother scoffed, the tone making Seth wince. "It's so obvious. He's a fucking fag."_

_"Don't swear at the dinner table!" she scolded. She turned to Seth, and sighed. "Just tell them, honey."_

_Seth couldn't find the right words to say. Should he lie, convince them that he was straight, or should he confess? He didn't have the chance to decide for himself._

_"See mom, he's completely silent! I told you!"_

_"Ryan, enough of that! Seth isn't gay, he's _not. _He just needs to find the right girl. If he thinks he's gay, it's just a phase. He'll get over-"_

_"It's not!" Seth suddenly shouted, his emotions getting the better of him. His father and brother's words stung, but hearing his mother make excuses for him was just as hard for him to hear. "I am gay and I will forever will be that way! Are you happy now?"_

_A gasp escaped his lips when a hand reached across the table and struck him across the face. He looked back at his father, who was clearly furious._

_"I will not listen to any of that! I am not having a fag live in this house!"_

_"Calm down," Seth's mother said, though she looked rather angry herself. She took a deep breath and turned to Seth. "Go to your room so we can talk."_

_"Oh yes, he can go to his room. But not so we can talk. Get your things."_

_"Wait, what?" Seth questioned, his hand still covering his red cheek._

_"You heard me. Whether you stay with a friend or whatever, you're not living here anymore. You can come back if you see sense."_

_"But what if I have nowhere to go? I'd be homeless!"_

_"Well, then you'd have to get over these sick... Urges, that you have."_

_Seth could hardly believe what he was hearing. Did his father really care that little? His mother hadn't protested to this, either. Ryan seemed to actually be _pleased.

_"Don't ever expect me to come back, then," Seth said quietly, and ran upstairs to his room. He grabbed the rucksack he used for school, and started to pack some of his clothing and his phone charger. Tears threatened to spill, though he didn't allow them to. He wouldn't show his family how weak he actually was in this situation and how his courage was mostly fake._

_When he finished his packing, he looked up to see his mother in the doorway._

_"You can come back," she said. "You just need to stop-"_

_"I'm not stopping anything," Seth interrupted. "My sexuality isn't a choice, and I'm not going to live the rest of my life here pretending to be something I'm not. So I guess this is goodbye."_

_He barged past her and walked quickly down the stairs, not giving his father or his brother one glance. He exited the house, making sure to slam the door after himself. He then began to walk through the streets, making his way to the only place he could go._

_After about fifteen minutes of walking, he knocked on the door of his boyfriend's apartment. The door soon opened, and Seth was quickly pulled in by the concerned man._

_"What are you doing here, Seth?" he asked, glancing at his still red cheek. "Did someone slap you?"_

_"It was my dad," Seth sighed. "The news about me being gay is out properly now, and I've been kicked out. I didn't have anywhere else to turn."_

_The tears he had been holding back started to fall, and he was immediately wrapped in Randy's arms. _

_"Shh, it's okay," the man said softly, rubbing Seth's back comfortingly. "You're safe with me. I'll protect you."_

* * *

><p>Seth was silent for a few moments after he told Dean this, and when he spoke again, his voice was very quiet.<p>

"He did at first. Protect me, I mean. And it was amazing. But then..."

"He changed?" Dean questioned softly, and Seth nodded. He looked down at the carpet, a few tears falling down his cheeks. He jumped slightly when Dean's hand went near his face, but immediately relaxed when he felt his tears being wiped away.

"It's alright," Dean whispered. "I'm nothing like Randy. I'm going to protect you from him, I promise."

Seth nodded. He definitely believed that.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Ryan is just a creation of mine. He's not really that important - he probably won't make another appearance.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! I apologise again for the late update. I'll try to get the next one posted sooner.

Reviews are always appreciated! Thank you for reading, and I hope you all had a good Christmas, if you celebrate.


	3. Encounter

**A/N: **My apologies once again for both a short chapter and a late update. My health has been playing up even more than usual these last few weeks. I can barely focus on this as I type it, so I'm sorry if there are any errors in the chapter I didn't quite notice.

Basically, having most of my body be in pain literally all the time isn't fun. Especially when the headache part of it has been there for two and a half years and is pretty severe, and the worst parts of my body restrict me from both standing for even short periods of time (without huge pain, at least) as well as things while even sitting. At least I'm getting referred back to the hospital and physiotherapy, which I got released from both, for some reason.

But anyway, enough about me. I hope you enjoy the chapter, despite the length still not being my preferred length.

* * *

><p>I'll Save You<p>

Chapter Three - Encounter

* * *

><p>It was quite shocking how quickly Seth began to trust Dean more and more.<p>

Strangely enough, he felt more comfortable in his presence more than most people, and he had only met the man a few days ago. It was like his presence was completely comforting. He was caring, definitely, and protective, though it was also his humour that made Seth feel at ease. His jokes were always enough to make Seth laugh, or even just smile, even if they were told to Roman instead. It was quite clear that the two of them had been friends for a long time. Or, at least, just got along as soon as they had met. Their friendship was definitely something which one could easily be jealous of. Seth, however, didn't feel any jealously. He simply enjoyed witnessing the strong friendship with his own eyes.

He had never had true friends of his own. During middle school, he had always been far too shy and nervous to talk to the other students. He usually kept to himself, despite teachers encouraging him to talk to others. At this time, he didn't really get approached by others. He got called the odd name, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

His time in high school however, was much worse.

Seth, once again, kept to himself once high school started, being far too fearful to speak to others in this much larger environment. People didn't bother him a huge lot, with the exception of a fair few, but the problem was a crush Seth had on one of the people in the group. It just so happened that it was this particular guy who was the one who played a prank on Seth, rather than one of the others.

Seth had been sitting at the back of the classroom, when the boy came up to him and sat down next to him. What followed was a low voice saying he was sorry for how he and his friends had treated Seth, and how he had personally always liked Seth. He then 'confessed' about how he had a crush on him. What made Seth believe his words was how sincere he had sounded, and how he even laughed nervously. It was no surprise that he had taken acting classes.

So of course, Seth confessed his own crush, which he immediately regretted. This was obviously not the expected reaction, and soon enough, the word that he was gay spread like hellfire through the school. It was actually when he was being pushed around by some of these bullies that Randy had came along to stop it, and so, how they met.

This is what he had told Dean, when he asked. Somehow, saying this made him feel a little better.

* * *

><p>There was a knock on the door on this day. Roman heaved himself off the sofa and came back a few moments later with a bearded man. He seemed to be an average height, but he looked small with Roman standing next to him.<p>

"Brie is currently shopping with Nikki and I thought I'd escape for a while," the man chuckled. He then looked at Seth, who was sitting next to Dean, curiously. "Who is this?"

"He's name is Seth," Dean said. "Seth, this is Daniel."

"It's nice to meet you," Daniel smiled, walking over. His eyes flickered over the faint bruises which still lingered on Seth's face for a moment, though they quickly looked away. He seemed to realise that it wasn't something he should ask about.

"I thought you'd want to tag along with them," Roman said, smirking. "I know how much you _love _tagging along for some nice girly shopping."

"Oh, I _adore _it," Daniel laughed. "I just thought it'd be nice to come over and see how you guys have been without me. So, how _have _you been?"

"We've been fairly good," said Dean.

"Yeah, we adjusted quickly after you moving out and leaving us," Roman said jokingly. "Though at least we have Seth with us now. It's filled that empty space in our hearts."

"Don't be so dramatic," Daniel chuckled. He paused for a moment, clearly contemplating how he could ask one of the questions lingering in his mind without seeming rude. "So, uh, where did you meet Seth?"

"I came across him when I was making my way to meet you both," Dean replied. "He is the reason I couldn't come."

"Ah, that explains it," Daniel nodded. It was quite obvious that he was curious to know more. _Why _exactly did Dean meeting Seth make him cancel plans, where the boy came from, why he was staying, the healing, yet still evident, bruises... But it was also obvious that Daniel definitely didn't want to intrude. "So have you heard anything from AJ at all?"

"Yeah, a little," said Dean. "We've still talked over these last few weeks. It's not like the breakup made us want to lose contact completely."

"I overheard Brie and Nikki gossiping about how they think they saw AJ and Paige together," Daniel chuckled.

"It doesn't really surprise me," Roman commented. "AJ had never really bothered covering the fact that she likes girls too, and let's face it, Paige could never be straight."

"Punk is bound to be pissed off when he hears the news, though," Dean laughed. "It's obvious that he still has a thing for her. Maybe if he didn't spend so long getting annoyed at me, he would have got to her before Paige did."

"Well, you know what he's like," Daniel said, shaking his head. "I better get going; they'll be home soon and will, no doubt, want to show me all of the things they bought today."

"Sounds like fun. I'll walk you to the door," Roman chuckled.

"Well, aren't you a gentleman?" Daniel said jokingly, before he followed Roman out of the lounge. Dean's eyes finally glanced back at Seth, who had been silent for the whole time Daniel had been there.

"Hey, you alright?" Dean asked, his voice softer than it had been a couple of minutes ago. "I'm sorry if that was awkward for you or anything. We tend to get carried away."

"Oh no, you don't have to apologise." Seth said quickly. "It wasn't awkward or anything. I just..."

"Yeah?"

"I've never had a friendship like that. I don't know what it feels like to have something like that and... Well, I guess I just didn't want to intrude or interrupt or anything."

"You wouldn't have been intruding. Both Roman and I don't mind you staying here, and Daniel is friendly. He's easy to get along with," Dean said reassuringly.

"I can tell," Seth smiled. "How long have the three of you been friends?"

"Since high school," Dean replied, leaning back against the sofa. A grin grew on his face. "Roman and I met while we were playing football in gym class. I kicked it right in his face, we laughed about it after class, and then we became friends. He introduced me to Daniel, Brie and Nikki, while I introduced him to AJ and Paige."

"You've known each other for quite a while, then."

"Yeah, five years now."

"Worst years of my life," Roman said, appearing in the doorway. He grinned and shook his head. "Nah, I'm kidding. It's more like the best. I'm going to go for a shower, I'll be back soon."

"Alright, I'll try to not miss you too much."

"You'll have to give it a very good try. I know how much me not being in your presence upsets you," Roman said jokingly, before he left the room, Dean and Seth watching as he did so.

There was silence for a few moments before Dean broke it.

"So how long, exactly, have you known Randy?" he questioned, his voice slightly slow as though he was somewhat worried about asking something which would upset Seth. He, however, didn't mind at all. He was starting to realise just how much speaking about what had happened within the last year was actually beneficial. It was better for him to talk about it rather than keep it bottled up inside.

"It was just over a year ago, when he walked over to me and those bullies that time," Seth started. "He gave me his number, and told me to call him if I ever needed someone. We talked a few times, and soon enough it was clear that there was something between us. I know it might have seemed stupid of me, being with a guy four years older than me when I was just fifteen, but I honestly thought that it might have worked out well between us."

"Maybe it would have, if he hadn't... Well, turned out how he did," Dean replied softly.

"Maybe," Seth said, shrugging. "It really was great, for the first few months. It was nice to actually have someone who I could talk to properly. I was never able to speak to my family about my problems and feelings, and I didn't have any friends to talk to. He really did help me. But then... Well, it was small things at first. Getting frustrated over things easily, becoming stressed, having a somewhat smaller temper than usual. It kind of just went on from there, until one night, he just snapped."

_"How was work today?" Seth asked as Randy walked through the door._

_"Fine, until Corey fucking decided to open his mouth and start pestering me the whole afternoon," he said through gritted teeth. He threw his bag off his shoulders and onto the sofa before he walked over to the kitchen."You know, it would have been nice if you at least showed you're grateful that I let you live with me and actually had made me food for when I got home."_

_"I'm sorry, I only got home from school half an hour ago and I've had a heap of work to do," Seth replied, slightly hurt at Randy's tone of voice. He followed him into the kitchen, watching as he put food down on the counter slightly forcefully._

_"I don't even know why you're bothering with school when you could actually be working and help me pay the rent."_

_"But... I did ask you last month if you wanted me to get a job to help and you told me to focus on my education and future."_

_"Well, things change, Seth," Randy said, turning to his boyfriend who could immediately see his anger. "I can't fucking pay for everything around here anymore."_

_"Alright, I'll see if I can get something part-"_

_"Part-time? You can barely handle school on its own. I doubt you'd be able to fucking handle both that and a job."_

_The words stung Seth a little, and he found himself getting angry as well._

_"There's no need for that," he said, trying to keep his voice calm._

_"It's the truth!"_

_"Just calm down, Randy!"_

_Suddenly, the back of Randy's hand slammed against Seth's cheek. His head jolted to the side from the force, his hand reaching up to cover the stinging red skin. He was then immediately pulled into a hug._

_"I'm so sorry Seth, I didn't mean to. I'm so fucking sorry..."_

"Of course, that wasn't the last time," said Seth. "It seemed like his anger just got worse and worse, and I seemed to be the easiest thing for him to take it out on."

"You deserve someone who would treat you completely better than that," Dean said, his voice fairly quiet, as it always was when Seth spoke about Randy.

"Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that," Seth admitted, looking down at his hands. His words made Dean frown.

"Why is it hard for you to believe it?"

"Because after all that happened, after everything he said, I sometimes feel like I did something to deserve it. I started to believe the things he said to me after a while. I guess it's because I was called useless and other things by my family in the past as well. Randy saying the same things made me start to believe it is true."

Dean sighed, and slid off the sofa so that he could crouch in front of Seth. He held onto the smaller pair of hands, making Seth look up a little at Dean's eyes.

"Listen, you. What they've said isn't true, alright? You're such a sweet person, one of the sweetest I've met. You don't deserve anything like that, not one bit. You've not done anything wrong, only they have. So please don't believe what they've said, and especially don't believe that you deserved it. You're worth so much more than those words."

Dean squeezed Seth's hands softly before he stood up, his eyes still fixed on Seth's.

"That is what you should believe, instead."

There was silence for several moments while Dean's words sunk in. It had been a long time since someone had something so positive to say about him. In fact, he couldn't properly remember a time when he had been told something like this.

"Thank you..." Seth said softly. "You have no idea how kind of you it is to say something like that to me. I'm very grateful."

"There's no need to thank me. I'm just saying the truth," Dean said. His eyes looked over at Roman standing in the doorway.

"I hope I'm not interuppting anything," he chuckled. "But we're running short on a couple of things again."

"Another trip to get food it is," Dean laughed, and paused for a moment before he turned to Seth. "The three of us could all go, if you want. You don't have to, of course."

Seth pondered over this. It _would _be good for him to leave the house for a while. He hadn't left since he had first arrived there. What was the worse that could happen? If he _did _end up bumping into Randy, which he doubted, he'd have Dean and Roman there by his side.

He slowly nodded his head.

"Sure... I'll go. It'll be nice to be out of the house for a while."

Both Dean and Roman smiled, and gestured for Seth to follow them to the door. Dean threw him a jacket from a hanger when they reached it.

"It's one of the smallest I have," he chuckled. "It's a bit cold out there. It's best if you wear it."

Seth nodded and pulled it on. In his rush to leave the apartment, he had completely forgotten to bring any of his jackets. The thought hadn't crossed his mind during his panic.

The fresh air hitting his face made him realise how much he had missed being outside. He had always used to love taking a book outside to read in the park, before things got too complicated for him to even leave the apartment. It was clear that he had made the right decision.

The walk to the store only took about ten minutes, but he still appreciated the time outside. He wandered behind Roman and Dean while the two of them were looking through the shelves, and quietly laughed as the two of them argued.

"That cheese is fucking horrible, Dean. You're mental."

"Feel free to get the one you want, but I'm getting this one."

"We are _not _getting two different types of cheese! I'm on a tight budget, you know."

"No you're not."

"Shut up. We're not getting two."

A hand on Seth's shoulder startled him while he was watching the two men argue, though due to how much he felt at ease, it didn't worry him.

"What is it?" he said as he turned around, thinking it would be someone asking him to move out of their way, though his heart stopped when he saw that it was the very person he had hoped _not_ to see.

"Well, well. You're the last person I expected to see here."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I hadn't even planned to have any cliffhangers in this story, but... Well, I always include them. It seems to be a natural thing with me.

I've had a guest reviewer ask me twice now if I can include them as Seth's sister. I'm sorry, but it really wouldn't be fitting. Seth only has his brother, who I made up for this story, and a sister wouldn't really be fitting. If he had one who he got along with, he would have spoken to her as soon as he was kicked out of the house, and probably would have moved in with her as soon as the abuse started happening.

Anyway, thank you for all of the positive feedback so far. I'm very grateful! Also, thank you for putting up with my incredibly long author's notes and updates. I'm annoying, I know.

Until next time!


	4. Promise

**A/N: **Apologies for taking so long to update. I've been pretty distracted lately, mainly with meeting my girlfriend. I've also started a novel, so obviously as I also do a lot of art, my focus has been on multiple things. Plus, I haven't really had the motivation for writing recently. But I finally managed to get it done tonight, go me!

I've raised the rating now to M, just to be on the safe side. I wasn't planning on doing this until later on in the story but it seems as though I have to. This story won't be very long anyway - probably as long as Hostage - so it was going to happen sooner or later anyway.

Hopefully you enjoy the chapter. It isn't very long, I don't think, but I still hope it's a good one.

* * *

><p>I'll Save You<p>

Chapter Four - Promise

* * *

><p>The man smirked, and the look in his eyes was enough to make Seth shiver. The hand on his shoulder wasn't gripping tightly enough so that Seth wouldn't have been able to get away, but something stopped him from doing so. Roman and Dean, a little further down the aisle and still distracted by each other, were oblivious to what was going on.<p>

"Randy, what's the hold up?" a man - Seth knew him far too well - had walked over besides his friend, and was also smirking when he noticed Seth. "Oh, you found him, did you? Didn't expect him to be out here, especially on his own."

"_Are _you on your own?" Randy questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Come on, bring him with us. I'm up for another round with him."

The words made a memory flash in his mind, one which he had been trying to forget, but always managed to creep back.

_"You know, Randy, you sure are generous," the man laughed, crouching in front of Seth. His hand held the younger boy's chin, lifting his head up, though Seth couldn't see him due to the blindfold clouding his vision. "It's hard to believe that you're willing to share such a cute one. You were never like this with your girlfriends."_

_"That's because my girlfriends were never quite as good as this guy," Randy chuckled. The words from both of them hurt Seth - it was like he was an object, just being used for other people's desires. It was hard for him to believe that he had gone from being in a caring relationship to _this. _Perhaps Randy had never cared as much as he thought._

_"Yeah, maybe that's true. This guy's cute enough to make any straight guy question his sexuality."_

_"You're right there, Paul," said Randy, and the creaking of the chair made Seth realise that he was probably leaning back, his hands resting on the back of his head ready to watch the scene unfold in front of him._

_"Well, as much I want to try him out in a way I never got the chance to before..." Paul started, reaching under Seth's handcuffed hands to squeeze his behind before he continued. "I miss that skilled mouth of his. He was much better than my ex ever was."_

_"Feel free. I'm not letting you do this all the time, you know. It's just a treat for you considering I had no cash to buy you anything."_

_"This is better than anything you could have bought me."_

_Seth could hear the sound of a zip, and didn't have much time to think before the hand under his chin moved to grip his two-toned hair, and his head was forced down onto the man's erection. He immediately obeyed - he could do very little about it in the state he was in._

_"God baby, just like that," the man groaned, and Randy let out a laugh._

_"He's gotten very good at that."_

_"I can tell. Boy, you've trained this one nicely."_

_The two men continued to talk, as though Seth couldn't hear any of the words they were saying, until the man pulled Seth's head back up by his hair._

_"Alright, that's enough," he said, and Seth could practically hear his smirk. "I bet it's nice to be inside him, huh?"_

_"It's like nothing else."_

"Hey, I want a little chat first," Randy laughed, immediately startling Seth out of his thoughts, though he was glad. The man tilted his head slightly, looking into Seth's eyes. "Why'd you run off, eh? I came home, and you were gone with most of your clothes. I had no idea where you were. It was very... Inconsiderate."

Then he frowned. His spare hand grabbed Seth's wrist, and lifted his arm up slightly.

"This isn't your jacket," he said, inspecting it before he looked back at Seth in the eyes. Randy's own eyes narrowed. "So whose is it? Already got-"

He was interrupted by an unexpected fist slamming into his face. Both hands immediately let go of Seth as he stumbled to his knees. The boy fell backwards, slightly fazed by what had happened, though one of Roman's strong arms caught him.

"It's alright," he murmured. Both of them then watched Dean, who was glaring down at Randy with the darkest expression that Seth had ever seen him wear. Paul then helped Randy get up off the floor, and both of the men stared at Dean standing in front of them. Dean was the same size as Paul, and merely an inch smaller than Randy, so they both seemed somewhat cautious.

"Stay the fuck away from him," Dean spat, his eyes fixed on Randy's. "He doesn't deserve to have you in his life. So both you and your friend here better stay far away from him if you know what's good for you."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Randy said, tilting his head slightly. A small amount of blood was dripping from his lip, though he was apparently ignoring it, just like he he was ignoring the couple of people watching them from further down the aisle.

"Yeah, actually, it is. I can do much more than a punch in the face, believe me."

"It's not just him threatening you, either," Roman added, gently pushing Seth behind him as he stepped forward so he was stood by Dean's side. He was a tiny bit smaller than the rest, but that was just in height. His muscular arms made Randy clearly take him seriously. "If you want to get to Seth, you'll have to get through me as well."

"Well, it seems like you've gotten yourself a couple of bodyguards, eh?" Randy said, chuckling. "But you'll come running back to me soon enough. I know you will. Your life is nothing without me in it. It's only a matter of time before you're back at my door, begging for forgiveness. I'll see you when that happens."

Neither Dean or Roman had the chance to retaliate before Randy grabbed his friend's arm and the two of them walked away. Dean immediately turned to Seth after they left and pulled him into a hug.

"Did he hurt you, Seth? Are you alright?" he asked as he pulled away softly.

"No, he didn't. I'm fine," Seth said quietly. Dean easily noticed that he was rather shaken.

"It'll be okay. I'll protect you."

"I'm here for you as well, Seth," Roman said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder gently. "We won't let anything happen to you."

"Are you alright?" a woman from further down the aisle asked, who was walking towards them. "That man looked dangerous. Should I call the police?"

"No, that's okay," Seth said quickly. For some reason, despite everything that had happened, he never wanted to go to police. He didn't know whether it was out of fear or not. Perhaps it was, but the fear was him getting blamed. Either that, or the police not taking it seriously. Part of him knew that the smartest idea _would _be to go to the police, but he always pushed the idea out of his mind and stopped himself.

"It'll be fine," Dean said reassuringly. "We've handled it."

"I'm just making sure," the woman smiled, before she titled her head slightly to one side. "Hey, do I know you two from somewhere?"

There was a pause, before Roman grinned.

"Kaitlyn?"

"Oh, I _knew _I recognised you from somewhere!" she laughed. "It's good to see you again, Roman. So you must be Dean?"

"That's me," Dean said, before he turned to Seth. "This is Kaitlyn, Seth. She went to the same school as Roman and I."

"It's nice to meet you," the woman said. "I can't believe how long it's been! We should definitely meet up together and some point, catch up on everything that's happened."

"Of course," Roman nodded.

"I have to go, I'm supposed to be seeing AJ. But it was nice seeing you again!"

She looked at Seth before she left, however, and when she spoke, her voice was soft.

"You're safe with these two. I've never met two guys anymore loyal than them. Take care."

"Thank you," Seth smiled, and the three of them watched as the brunette walked away. Dean then put an arm around Seth's shoulders, sighing.

"Come on, we'll go and pay for the things and then we'll go home."

* * *

><p>It was a painful thing for Dean to see Seth be so much more visibly tense and anxious than he had been before. It was like how he had been when he had first started staying at Dean and Roman's home, before he had started to grow a little more confidence, or at least seemed to feel more comfortable being around them. But being confronted by Randy had completely shaken him. He only ever spoke when Dean and Roman asked him a question, aside from that, he stayed silent. His eyes often stared into space, as though he was constantly thinking about what happened.<p>

Dean didn't know how to comfort Seth at all. He voiced his worries to Roman, who, despite being clearly concerned himself, tried to be reassuring.

"He'll be fine, Dean," he said. "We just need to give him a bit of time to move on from this. It's natural for him to be shaken after what happened. Anyone would be if that happened to them."

"I sure hope so," Dean sighed. Roman smiled sadly.

"Me too. I'm going to have to go for my night shift now. You're alright for me to leave you both, aren't you?"

"Yeah, of course," Dean replied. He had not gone to work himself for the last few days - he had phoned, pretending he had one of the viruses going around, and couldn't stop being sick. He knew he would have to go back soon enough, but he didn't feel like it would be right for him to go back yet.

"It'll be alright, okay?" Roman said, pulling Dean into a hug. "Don't worry."

"Obviously I'm going to worry," Dean chuckled humourlessly. "See you later."

Roman nodded and said a quick and soft goodbye to Seth (who looked startled for a moment before he gave Roman a small smile) before he grabbed his jacket and exited the house. Dean then turned round to Seth, who looked up at him as he was walking over.

"If you need to talk about anything, I'm here," he said. "I know it just seems like what everyone says, but I truly mean it."

"I know that, and I really do appreciate it," Seth replied, pausing for a moment. "But... But I don't think talking about it is going to help me right now. I'm sorry if it sounds rude or anything like that."

"No, it doesn't. I completely understand."

Seth nodded, before he slowly got himself up from the sofa.

"I think I'm going to go to bed, if that's okay. I'm feeling pretty exhausted after what happened and everything."

"Of course it's okay," Dean smiled. He headed up the stairs with Seth, and watched as he opened the door to his room. He stopped when he was in the doorway, and turned to give Dean a small smile before he closed the door after him. Dean remained in the same spot for a few moments before he opened the door to the bathroom and stepped inside.

Meanwhile, Seth heard the sound of a razor coming from the bathroom after he had fell down onto the bed. He felt so exhausted, and yet, he didn't want to sleep. His mind was still going wild after what happened earlier that day. He had started to slowly gain some confidence, even if it was just a small amount, and was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, it was all going to turn out okay in the end. Perhaps that would be possible. But being confronted by Randy had ruined that. Simply the fact that he couldn't even speak for himself made him feel weak.

Though his mind was screaming for him not to, he reached into his bag for his phone, pressing the button to switch it on. He didn't know why he was doing this, the last thing he wanted was to see if he had been sent any messages, but something prevented him from stopping himself.

He should have stopped himself, however, for the single message he read was the thing which made him believe that there was nothing he could do to get away from everything except from taking his own life.

* * *

><p>Dean exited the bathroom about ten minutes later, and was about to make his way over to his bedroom when he noticed that Seth's door was open. He frowned, remembering that Seth had closed it after himself. Dean entered the room, his eyes automatically landing on Seth's phone - which he knew Seth had placed in his bag several days ago - lying on his bed. He picked it up, silently thankful when there was no passcode. Seth hadn't exited the message he had read before he placed his phone down, and after Dean had read it, he knew that Seth must have dropped it immediately after reading the message.<p>

_Well, it was surely nice to see you today, Seth. I'm still curious about who that guy is, but he doesn't really matter, does he? We both know that I'm the one person in your life. You're just going to come crawling back to me sooner or later, because there is no other option. It's probably a burden on those two, the ones you're staying with. Have you thought about that? Of course you have. I know you better than anyone._

_They're only going to put up with you for so long before you're back out on the streets again. Where will you go then? Obviously back to me. You know it, I know it. So just stop all this shit, Seth. Come back before I start to get angry and it just gets worse for you._

_You don't really have any other option._

Dean swore under his breath. The hatred he felt towards Randy had rose to a whole new level. Though when his eyes shifted to his side, his thoughts completely focused on Seth. A blade, which he presumed to be from a razor, was placed on the bed next to him. The blood which was on it was completely fresh.

It was clear that Seth had found another option, though it was certainly one that Dean didn't want to happen.

He rushed out of the room and down the stairs. Barely shutting the door after him, he ran out of the house, panicking when he wasn't sure if Seth would have gone left or right. Praying that his guesses were correct, he turned right. There was a bridge that way, above a road below, and if Seth was about to do the very thing that Dean wanted to prevent, he was heading in the right direction.

A wave of relief washed over him when he saw Seth near the edge. Dean hadn't even noticed the rain until he saw how soaked Seth's hair was.

"Seth!" Dean shouted, running over to him. He stopped when Seth raised a hand, wincing when he saw several cuts littered on the wrist, blood still dripping out.

"Don't," Seth said in a voice that Dean could barely hear. "Don't come any closer."

"Seth, don't do this. This isn't the way."

"What else can I do? Randy was right, eventually I'm going to be back out on my own again and just going to go back to him. But I can't... I can't go back."

"We're not going to kick you out!" Dean exclaimed. "We're here for you, Seth. We're not going to leave you on your own."

"My family did," Seth said quietly. "My friends did too. Everyone does, sooner or later. It's always just a matter of time."

"It's not like that with me, I promise you."

"It's like a never-ending nightmare. I'm only sixteen, and I've already had enough. I just want it all to stop. This is the only way."

"No, it isn't. Look at me, Seth. Please."

There was several moments of silence before Seth slowly turned round to face Dean.

"There _is _another way, and that is to stay with me. You don't have to go back to Randy, and you don't have to die for it to stop. I know how hard everything has been for you and you didn't deserve any of it. But it will get better, Seth. Just let me help you."

"I don't... I don't think you can."

"How do you know that unless you let me?"

Seth didn't reply to those words, but he also didn't move when Dean took a step closer. Then he fell to the ground on his knees, breaking out into tears as he covered his face with shaking hands. Dean quickly crouched down in front of him and pulled him into his arms.

"It's okay, it's okay," he murmured, one hand gently rubbing Seth's back. "I'm going to help you get through this. I'm going to save you, I promise."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Thank you to those who have reviewed or sent me a message regarding this story and/or my writing. I always adore hearing people's thoughts and I am honestly so grateful!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will try and get the next one updated sooner. Until Next time!


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